Law roundup: The dog ate my curtains

Officers with the Columbia Falls Police Department dealt with a case of mistaken identity allegedly involving a pair of rambunctious dogs. A man told authorities that he lived with his father and the older man had concluded it was him making a mess in the house. But the man blamed the destruction on his dogs. He said he routinely put the pair in a room when he leaves, but the dogs broke out, later tearing up curtains and a portion of the home.

Police came across a minor on a registered four-wheeler and an adult on a minibike riding on Ninth Avenue. While the adult thought the minibike was street legal because it had a license plate, officers let him know he needed to take a few more steps before being able to drive it on the road. Authorities ended up counseling the juvenile and the adult on the proper use of both vehicles.

Officers responded to a report of a reckless driver heading east on U.S. 2. The individual phoning in the aggressive motorist said the vehicle struck a guardrail not far from mile marker 139. Officers were unable to track down the offending vehicle, described as a white Ford Taurus that reportedly hit speeds of 80 to 90 mph on the highway.

A recently fired employee earned a talking to from police after allegedly sending a string of unwanted text messages to his former coworkers. The missives mostly focused on how much the company was underpaying its employees. A few workers had turned the messages over to the human resources department. The employee phoning in the allegations asked officers to intervene, and if possible, be on site when the former worker showed up to collect his belongings. Authorities recommended the employees block the phone number associated with the message and contact police if the texts continue. They also agreed to be on hand when the former worker came for his possessions.

Concerned about possible shoplifters, a store employee contacted police to report a man and woman inside the business with a cart full of items. The male was acting “shifty,” the employee told police. They later found out the pair was waiting for the man’s mother to pick them up.

Officers headed out to a power box on Seventh Street after receiving a report that the device was open and wires were sticking out. The caller asked that the police check and see if it just needed closing up or if the utility needed to come out and make repairs. Officers reported that everything seemed fine at the power box.

First responders headed to a Meadow Lake Boulevard home for a report of an individual struggling to breathe.

Officers rerouted a man headed to the Police Department hoping to pick up his lost dog. The man told authorities he saw that someone found the dog posted on Facebook. Officers let him know that the dog had since been moved to the Flathead County Animal Shelter. He could call during business hours the following day to arrange to pick up his pet.

Police were summoned to the Horine Park area for a report of roughly a dozen juveniles causing chaos. The individual reporting the rowdy bunch wanted officers to make sure “they are not up to anything bad.” Authorities were unable to locate the group, but ended up speaking with a man in the park who described the alleged hooligans as regulars in the area. Police arranged for extra patrols in the hopes of finding the group and explaining such concepts as park hours, curfew and the city noise ordinance to them.